MARYBOROUGH wool producer Alistair Calder sees a great future for electronic identification of sheep using radio frequency tagging.
Working along side Gallagher and the Department of Primary Industries he has been quick to set it up among his mid-micron Merino self replacing ewe flock of 3000, which he runs alongside 1000 wethers.
A local Bestwool/Bestlamb member, Mr Calder hopes to use electronic tags in conjunction with his OFDA 2000 in shed fibre testing service.
Mr Calder will be using it to identify the top and bottom 20 per cent of the flock; with a special emphasis on wool quality.
“I hope to rank individual animals on micron, body weight, greasy fleece weight and birth status (single/twin), to identify the top 20pc in each age group,” he said.
“I can then rank animals into studs, A flock, B flock and terminals. This will enable faster genetic gain, better feed efficiency and a more effective culling strategy.”
The OFDA 2000 tests samples along the staple from tip to base in their greasy state and identifies various traits of a the sample.
From this it makes 18 different measurements of the wool, including: minimum and maximum micron, course edge micron (CEM), comfort factor (CF), mean fibre ends (MFE), fibre curvature (CRV), finest point from the tip (FPFT), spinning fineness, staple length as well as the usual mean micron, standard deviation and co-efficient of variration.
Mr Calder currently runs a contracting business with his OFDA 2000 for various clients looking to improve the fleece quality of their flock and being able to class animals into varying micron groups.
Extract of story appearing in Stock & Land, November 27.
For further information contact Chris Hinks, Tru-Test.
